Latch device



0. H. ORENDOHFF.

LATCH DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.9.192o.

1,4245673, A PatentedAug.-1,1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l- WITNm! 0. H. ORENDORFF.

LATCH DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.9, 1920.

v Palented Aug. l, 1922a 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AITORNEY u o. H. ORENDORFF. LATCH nevicE. APPLICAUON FILED Nov. 9, ezd. 1,424, 6 ?3. Patented Aug. l, 1922,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORNEYa 0. H. ORENDORFF.

LATCH nfvlcE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9| 1920.

1,424,6'73- Paten /7 W 'V /f .v

5 SHEETS-SHEET v4.

A'ITORNE! 0. H.' ORENDORFF.

LATCH DEVICE'.

APPLICATIQN FILED Nov.9. 1920 Patnted Aug. l, 1922.

@Ja aya/ff INVEQTOR WITNBS! e iran sierras OLIVER H. oii'ENDoiirr, or BLooiiiNG'roiv, iLLIN'ois.

L'rc'H DEVICE.

Specification of Iietters Patent. Pgmtiffed LUig, l, 1922 ppiicatiii med ivovmber 9, 1920. serial No. 422,964.

T 0 all whom# may concern: Be it known that 1, OLiy'iiigH. QRENDORir, a citizen or the United States, residingfat Bloomington, in the county otMc/Lea'n and State of Illinois, have invented new and useul Improvements in Latch Devices, of which the following is a speciiication,

This invention relates to latching devices and has for its object the provision of a novel. latchingdevice adapted oriise for a vwide variety of purposes but designed particularly for use in holding Ia Idoor oi any kind either closed or in a'ny other position, though Ythe device 'detachable-tor ufsein holding relatively movable members together whether they be hingedly or slidably mounted. l i

An importanaobjectis the provisionot a device [of this character which isloff spring construction whereby it will actas a buffer and whereby it will 'also operate to give the door lorfthelike initial movement when the latch mechanism is released. Anothen object isv the proyision of la device of lthis [character ywhichis primarily yformed of spring metal embodies 'noV sliding partssi'i'cli as are, I commonly provided in ordinary latch meohanis'msl- An additional object is the provision of a device of; this character whichwillbe simple and inexpensive l'manuliaeti'iije,' easy to apply and use. eiiicienti'n operatioii, du rable inservice, and a general improvement in the art- ,f -With the above and other ebjectsandadvantages in view, the, invention consists in the details 'of constructionfto be hereinafter Inoreiullydescribed and claimedand illust'rated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is a face view of a ypp )itio'ii of a door. and its j amb, showing'iny device applied thereto, Figure 2 's a vertical sectional view `'through lthe door, 'and jamb, showing my ,de-

vicein side elevation with the door in closed position,

Figure Bis a similar view with the door in open position,

Figure 4L is a perspective view of the spring: device detached,

Figure 5 is a perspective View member detached, g

Figure 61s a side elevation of thedevice showing an auxiliary spring associated therewith, f Figure 't' is a faceviewoflmy device oonstructed and arranged specially for use on screen doors, f

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view through the intermediate cross bar of the screen door, showing the releasing means forrny device,

of he iaith Figure 9 is a side elevation of my device f vused for holding a door in open position and showing it mounted upon the wall,

4Figure 10 is a similar view showing nmy device arranged upon the. base-board, Figurev 1l is a longitudinal sectional view through the lower edge of an automobile hood and showing iiiy device constructed and 4arranged for holdingthe hood closed,

`Figure l2 is a cross sectional view therethrough, I

Figure 13 is a view of another modification, parts being in elevation and others being in section, and

Figures i4 and l5 are views of still aiiy'other modification.

Referring more particularly to the `drawings andespecially toFigures l to fthe letter A designates a portionoi a door and B designates its jamb. When the word door is used it does not necessarily mean a door to a room as it might be a do`or,of a house, barn, garage, or even the ydoor of a piece of `furniture such as a cupboard, cabinet, or the like. Secured either upon the door or upon the jamb is a plunger member 1'5 of L-shape, as clearly shown in Figure 5, and this plunger member operates as a latch, its upturned end 16 serving this purpose.

Secured either upon the j amb or the door is the spring holding portion ofiny device which is shown in detail in Figure 4., If the latch is on the door this spring device is on the jamb and vice versa. This spring member is formed of resilient Vmaterial and might easily be formed of spring wire though it is preferably constructed from a strip of thin spring steel or the like and this strip is bentinto substantially triangular shape to provide a portion 17 having the case may be.

holes or the like 18 for the passage of securing screws 19 or nails whereby the device may be attached to the door or j amb, as The strip is also bent'to provide a horizontally extending arm 20 which is bifur'cated to define ears 21 between which is journaled a roller 22. The strip also includes a relatively long inclined tongue 23 which is also bifurcated at its free end, as shown at '24, for journally kreceiving' a roller 25. The tongue 23 is so arranged and so held by the natural resilience of the strip that the roller 25 carried thereby will 'engage against the roller 22,

Secured uponthe arm 2() is an upwardly extending thumb piece 26 adapted to be pressed whereby to swing the arm20 and consequently the roller 22 away from the roller 25. The4 plunger. 15 and the spring member are so positioned upon the door and jamb that when the door is closed the plunger or catch 15 will engage against the roller 25. f The parts being` constructed and arranged as above described, it will be seen that when the `door is closed the engagement of the catch 15 with the roller 25 will force the tongue 23 toward the attaching plate 17A At the same time the engagement of the rollers 25 and 22 will cause the arm 2O to be swung upwardly whereupon the roller 25 and upturned end 1 6 of the catch or plunger 16 will ride under the roller 22 where- The door will then beheld in closed position. Owing to the fact that the device is constructed of spring strip itis obvious that the closing ofthe door will be cushioned so that a slam will be prevented. When itis vdesired to open the door the operator presses upon the thumb piece 26 which'will result in swinging the arm 2O upwardly, withdrawing the roller 22 from behind the end 16 of the catch whereupon the resilience of the tongue 23 will cause it to spring away from the attaching plate 17, forcing the ldoor open to a slight extent.

' v'In case it should be desired to increase the vstiffness of the spring action I may pro- Avide a coil spring 27 which has one end secured to the lower angle of the spring device and its upper end secured to the arm 20, as indicated clearly in Figure 6.

In Figures 7 and 3 I have shown my device as designed primarily for use upon.

screen doors. In these iignres the letter C' ldesignates one upright bar of a screen' door and'fD designates the intermediate cross bar thereof. E designates thejamb. vSecured upon the is a plunger 28 identical with the plunger 15 and yhaving an upturned end 29. My spring device is identical with that previously described and designated by the numeral 30, and is secured upon the bar C. The operation of latching the door is exactly the same as that described above. In vthis form, however, I make use of a different releasing means which comprises a pair `of bars 31 and 32 mounted upon opposite sides of the bar D and pivoted at their ends remote` fromthe edge o f the door. The free end of thebar 32 is connected witha sliding bolt 33 which passes through the edge of the door and which is connected 'with a substantially L- shaped member 34 secured upon the horizontal arm of the spring device. The free end of the bar 32 is engaged upon this bolt 33 and the parts are secured by suitable nuts 35 or the like.

In the operation of releasing the catch whenused in this capacity involves pulling upon the bar 31 or pushing upon the bar 32 whereupon the L-shaped member 34' will spring the horizontal arm of the spring device so as to disengage from the catch member 28. This` operation' is lsubstantially the same as the operation effected by pressing upon the thumb ypiece 26y of thefirst. described form.

In Figure 9I have shown my device as adapted for holding a door inv open position. In this form the spring device is secured upon the wall F at the proper location to be engaged by the plunger carried by the free edgey of thedoor. The operation is the same as when the device is used. for holding a door lshut butv instead of the thumb piece 26 vfor eifecting a release I provide a cord andtassel 36 connected with the horizontal arm of the spring device for effecting' disengagement thereof fromythe plunger.

In Figure 10 I have'shown the device as mounted upon a base-board Gr for. the purpose of holding the'y door open. The arrangement, construction, and operation of this form are the same as of the precedingv be pulled upwardlytov swing the horizontal arm 20 into unlatching position.

InfFigures 11 and 12 I have shownimy i device as designed for use .in holdingan vautomobile hood closed. Inv this'form lthe hood H is provided at its lower edges with inverted channel bars 39 within each of whi'chis mounted a pair of my spring devices, the arms 2O of which are connected by a ex'ible vstrip '40. Associated'with the channel bar and movable with respect thereto, is a handle 41 which has a shank 42 slidable through the channel bar and connected with the strip 40. Secured upon the frame bars beneath the edges of the hood is a pair of my vplunger members' 15 which are adapted to cooperate with and engage within the spring members in exactly the same manner as when the device is used in connection with a door. The difference between this construction and the previously described forms is that in this instance it is only the releasing means which is dierent, the strip 40 operating to move both of the arms 20 of the spring devices to release the hood when the handle 41 is pulled upwardly.

Referring to Figure 13, it will be seen that I have provided a still further form of the device. In this case I provide a casing 50 secured upon a door jamb and having one edge formed with an opening 51. Associated with the door is an angular catch member 52 identical with the type shown in the preceding figures. Pivoted in the upper part of the casingis a bar 53 carrying a roller 54 at its free end. Connected with this bar is a threaded rod 55 surrounded by a spring 56 and extending through the top of the casing. A nut member 57 is threaded onto the rod for the purpose of varying the tension of the spring. Located at one edge within the casing is a lever bar 58 held under tension by a spring 59 and having its free end carrying a roller 60 cooperating with the roller 54. The operation of this form is the same as of the other forms except that release of the catch is effected by pulling up on the rod 55.

In Figures 14 and 15 I have shown a horizontally pivoted bar 61 having its free end lying flat in the bottom of the catch 62. This bar carries an arm 63 projecting through the door 64 and serving as a handle for lifting the bar to effect release.

From the foregoing description and a study of the` drawings it will. be apparent that I have thus provided simply constructed and consequently inexpensive latching device which will not only effectively hold a door or other movable member' either in open or closed position but which will cushion the shock when such element reaches an end of its movement and which will also operate to give the initial opening movement when the release is effected.

`While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to malte such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character 'described comprising a catch member having an angular end, and a holding member including an attaching portion, an outwardly extending arm portion, a tongue portionangularly disposed with respect to said attaching portion and said arm portion, said arm and tongue being resilient, and rollers journaled on the free ends of the arm and tongue in overlapping relation, one roller being initially engageable by said catch member and the other roller being adapted for subsequent engagement behind the angular end of the catch member.

2. A device of the character described comprising a catch member having an angular end, and a holding member including an attaching portion, an outwardly extending arm portion, a tongue portion angularly disposed with respect to said attaching portion and said arm portion, said arm and tongue being resilient, and rollers journaled on the free ends of the arm and tongue in overlapping relation, one roller being initially engageable by said catch member and the other roller being adapted for subsequent engagement behind the angular end of the catch member, and means connected with said arm portion whereby to move the game out of engagement with the catch mem- 3. A device of the character described comprising a catch member having an angular end, and a holding member including an attaching portion, an outwardly extending 100 arm portion, a tongue portion angularly disposed with respect to said attaching portion and said arm portion, said arm and tongue being resilient, rollers journaled on the free ends of the arm and tongue in overlapping 105 relation, one roller being initially engageable by said catch member and the other roller being adapted for subsequent engagement behind the angular end of the catch member, and means connected with 110 said arm portion whereby to move the same out of engagement with the catch member comprising an L-shaped member secured to said arm portion, and means for moving said L-shaped member. 115

4. A latching device comprising a catch member, a spring-pressed opening member and a spring-pressed retaining member engageable behind the catch member for holding the opening member under tension.v

5. A latching device comprising a catch member, a spring-pressed opening member and a spring-pressed retaining member engageable behind the catch member for holding the opening member under tension, and 125 means for releasing the retaining member to permit operation of the opening member.

6. A latching device comprising a catch member, a sprlng-pressed arm constituting an opening member, and a retaining mem- 130 "ber engageabe by the catch member lfor with the catch il'nemloer for holding the openholding the opening member under tension, ing member under tension,fand rollers jonrboth of saidfmembersh'avng their lextrerninaled on the extremities of .said larms and 10 lties arranged in 'overlappingrelationL arranged in overlapping relation for en-y 5 7.*A1atehing device comprising acateh lgugementl by the catch memben n membenna sprlnglarm constituting anvopen- In testimony Whereoil /Ieiiix my signature.

-ng memberra retaining mernberengageable OLIVER H. ORENDORFF. 

